Burial vault



Jan. 29, 1929. 1,700,346

' w. P. BEwLEY BURIAL VAULT Filed March 5, 1927 NVEN'IR BYM ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 29, 1929.

UNI STAT Es PATENT; OFFICE. 'l

WILLIAM?. BEWLEY, OFIIICIIMAN MILLS', MISSOURI.

. BURIAL VAULT.

Application filed March 5, i927.. .serial No. 173,170.

My invention relates toburial vaults, and particularly to burial vaults, which are made ofreenforced concrete'andused to enclose burial caskets in graves.

The object of the invention is to provide an air and water tight burial vault having self locking facilities to prevent its opening after burial.

I attain these objects and other advantages by means of the structure and parts illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a burial vault embodying my invention, and showing the same in locking position.

Figure 2 is a cross section of the burial vault taken on the line 22 in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a sectional view of one corner section of the burial vault, and showing the means for its self locking.

Figure 4 is a section of the material used in reenforcing the structure made of concrete materials and,

Figure 5 is a top plan view of thebase member, and showing the groove or channel therein for the reception of the cover member, also showing the spring actuated bolt in normal operative position.

Figure 6 is a sectional view of the corner section of the vault shown in Figure 3, and

showing the yieldingly mounted locking bolt in normal position.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral 1 designates the burial vault as it appears when buried in a grave and having a burial casket therein. The burial vault consists of a base member 2 adapted to lie in the grave and having its upper portion formed to provide a bed 3 upon which a burial casket mayvlie, and a cover member 4.

Inwardly adjacent the perimeter of the bed portion is formed a groove or channel 5 having a vertical outer wall 6 and a beveled inner wall 7. The cover member has vertical side walls 8, vertical end walls 9, and an arched roof wall l0, all of said. walls being formed integral. The inner sides of the side and end walls are beveled corresponding to the bevel of the inner wall of the groove or channel 5. A gasket 11, preferably made of synthetic rubber is disposed in the bottom of the groove or channel 5 to cushion the lower edges of the cover member. Handles 12 are anchored in the side walls of the cover and are adapted to slidably receive the customforward movement of the locking bolts, by y engaging the annular beads 16 on the bolts.

The burial vaultis, preferably, formed of concrete composed of a mixture of ingredients consisting of four parts iron slag, one part sodium silicate, one part cement, and two parts water.A Said mixture is poured into forms corresponding to the forms of the members of the vault and in which is arranged reenforcing material, preferably, metal hardware Vcloth 17, the mixture being allowed to harden in the forms in the ywell understood manner. When the burial vault members are hardened and removed from the forms they are treated to a layerV of a mixture of glue and zinc oxide and, when dry, a sec ond layer of a mixture of glue and Zinc chloride, which treatments render the members impervious to moisture and assures a dry in* f teriorv of the vault after burial. Moreover, the layers of the mixtures described. being applied to the inside and outside of the vault members, in connection with the gasket of synthetic rubber, provides an air tight vault, and the vair ktrapped in the vault will aid in resisting the entry of moisture from the earth.

yThe base member 2 is placed at the bottom of the grave a substantially level position and the burial casket containing the remains is lowered to lie upon the bed portion ofthe base. The cover member of the vault is then lowered by means of straps loosely engaging the handles 12, and the lower edges of the side and end walls of the cover member entered into the groove or channel 5 in the bed portion of the base member. As the 'beveled side of the edges of the cover member engages the outer end of the locking bolt-s they are wedged back into the housings, and thereby tensioning Vthe springs 18V until the cover is seated on the gasket 11, whereupon, the reaction of the springs force the bolts forward into recesses 19 in the beveled portion of the sides and ends of the cover member,

thus positively locking the cover member' on the base member and preventing opening of the burial vault after its burial.

Having described my invention what I claim is- In a burial vault, a base member ot ce1nentitious material having a bed portion and a cover receiving groove extending about the bed portion7 transverse cavities extending from the groove into the sides of the bed portion and provided with axially perforated closure plugs, spring actuated plunger rods arranged in the cavities and slidably supported by said closure plugs and provided With annular stops adapted to engage the inner sides of the closure plugs lto limit the thrust of the plunger rods with respect to said groove, and afcover member of cementitious material having the lower portion of its side and end Walls adapted to be received by said groove and retract said plunger rods and provided with keeper recesses adapted to receive the end portions of the plunger' rods as the cover is seated inthe groove. v

WILLIAM P. BEWLEY. Y 

